Manchester United fan Luke Littler was blown away to receive a message from David Beckham in light of his World Championship win, revealing the England legend’s sensitive side
Sir David Beckham was among the throngs of supportive celebs to reach out to Luke Littler following his World Darts Championship win. And the contents showcased the Manchester United icon’s caring side away from the spotlight.
Littler, 18, has transformed the face of darts during his two years playing on the PDC circuit. And he was only too aware of his impact after an England great like Beckham got in touch to congratulate him on his maiden world title almost 12 months ago.
The incident will have been particularly surreal for Littler considering he’s a United fan with a deep appreciation of Beckham’s legacy. ‘Golden Balls’ was hardly alone in sending ‘The Nuke’ well wishes upon clinching the crown at Alexandra Palace, but he may have been up there with the most meaningful.
Remembering the unexpected interaction during a chat with Sky Sports, Littler recounted: “He said; ‘Wow, well done’, and I said thank you!”
The teenager continued: “It goes to show what I have done for the sport, not only for myself but for the other hundreds of professionals out there. Just to see the likes of David Beckham watching it feels crazy.”
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Littler also revealed Beckham contacted him in the build-up to his first final in January 2024, saying: “Before the final he sent me a message saying, ‘Good luck, Luke – once a Red, always a Red.’ That was class.”
The United Kingdom broke out with a case of Littler fever during his run to the 2024 World Darts Championship final. His defeat to Luke Humphries in that matchup drew a peak TV audience of 3.71million viewers, making it Sky Sports’ most watched non-football event of all time.
That number grew to 4.8m people when including NOW TV viewers and others streaming the event. That represented a 143 per cent increase on the previous year, underlining the influence Littler brought with him.
It’s no coincidence the PDC has since made the decision to inflate the prize money on offer at Alexandra Palace since then. This year saw the total prize pot double to £5m, with £1m of that going to the champion, up from £500,000 in previous years.
So Littler isn’t the only one in the darts economy benefiting from the extra eyeballs he brings. Indeed, every player who manages to punch a ticket to the World Championship has won before even throwing a dart.
The Nuke has sailed through to the third round of this year’s competition almost without even breaking a sweat. He beat Darius Labanauskas in the first round before eliminating David Davies, albeit with some shaky moments against the latter.
Davies had a chance to take the first set before fluffing his lines in the crucial moment. Littler seized upon the opportunity to win 3-0 again and will now face Mensur Suljovic in the next round on Saturday.
There’s an aura around Littler now that means a second straight World Championship wouldn’t bring the same sense of surprise. Nonetheless, he may well look forward to see which celebrities reach out in the event he successfully defends his crown.
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